Set up Kilobat in Hermes Agent

Install the CLI

The Kilobat CLI is free and open source, and it includes the MCP server. Install it with Homebrew:

Check it with kilobat --version. kilobat doctor says whether the Kilobat app is running, its network filter is on and Pro is active; the tools work without the app, which adds Wi-Fi names, history and rule enforcement. The CLI needs macOS 14 or later.

Connect the MCP server

Run the agent backend and Kilobat on the Mac you want to check. A cloud runner, Linux server or container cannot use this local command to inspect your Mac.

1. Merge this entry into ~/.hermes/config.yaml, keeping your other servers.

   mcp_servers:
     kilobat:
       command: kilobat
       args: [mcp]

2. Check that the server starts and lists its tools.

   hermes mcp test kilobat

3. Start a new Hermes session, or run /reload-mcp in the session that should use Kilobat.

Add the skills

Nine Agent Skills teach the agent to read Kilobat's measurements and to ask before changing settings. Install them for all your projects with skills.sh:

npx skills add seifip/kilobat-skills -g -a hermes-agent

This puts them in ~/.hermes/skills/. Leave out -g to install them for the current project only, or leave out both flags to pick agents from a list.

The kilobat skill is the entry point: it holds the setup and safety rules and sends the agent to the skill that fits, such as mac-network-troubleshooting or mac-agent-runs. See all nine skills.

Try these prompts

Ask in plain words. The agent picks the tools; these are the ones each request usually needs.

What Hermes Agent can and can't change

Kilobat's MCP server marks every tool as read-only or as a change, and each change tool's description tells the agent to get your confirmation first. The kilobat skill holds the same rule: read freely, ask before changing.

Read-only measurements

• Measure Wi-Fi, router, internet and DNS latency, and per-app traffic: diagnose_network, get_status, get_wifi, scan_wifi.
• Find the layer that stops one host, trace a route and compare resolvers: diagnose_connection, trace_route, benchmark_dns.
• Read history, sessions, rules and approvals: get_usage_report, list_sessions, list_rules, list_approvals.
• Check every host it and the commands it ran contacted, with bytes and flags: agent_network_log.
• Ping for latency spikes with run_stutter_test, which sends pings only.

Asks you first

• A speed test, which uses up to 80 MB (run_speedtest; on a metered network, 10 MB or less), and a five-second LAN test (run_lan_test).
• Looking up your public IP with Cloudflare (get_exit_path with public_ip).
• Profiles, app rules, blocked hosts, the new-app mode, budgets, quotas, a network's data cost and pausing updaters (set_profile, set_app_rule, block_destination, set_new_app_mode, set_budget, set_app_quota, set_network_cost, set_updater_pause).
• Holding another app's upload, such as Dropbox, until a better network (hold_upload).
• DNS, which macOS also guards with an administrator password prompt (set_dns).
• Keeping the Mac running with the lid closed, every time (keep_awake with lid_closed). A plain keep_awake changes no settings and ends when it expires.

Can't do

• Let a waiting app connect on its own: decide_approval can block at once, but allowing opens Kilobat's approval window for you to confirm.
• Change AirDrop visibility: set_airdrop_visibility opens System Settings for you.
• Change sleep settings, another app's settings, or anything outside Kilobat. It never reads prompts or replies.
• Enforce rules without the Kilobat app and its network filter (Pro). Without them, rules are saved, not applied, and the agent should say so.

Keep confirmation enabled for changes. Hermes discovers Kilobat’s tools, but the agent must still ask before applying rules, changing DNS or using lid-closed mode.

If the agent can also run shell commands, the kilobat CLI can do what the MCP tools do. The skills tell it which commands to run freely and which to ask about.

Track agent runs

Hermes Agent has no ready-made Kilobat run adapter yet. Connecting MCP does not automatically track its working, waiting or done state. A custom hook can call kilobat agent-event start|working|waiting|done|failed --agent hermes --session <id> --cwd <folder>. See Connect agents.

Sources

• Hermes Agent: MCP setup and testing
• Hermes Agent: skills
• Kilobat docs: AI agents and MCP
• skills.sh: supported agents and their skill folders

Checked on 1 November 2026. Agents change their settings often; if a step no longer matches, tell us at the support address.

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